Fire Sweeps Through Ore. Auto Body Shop

Photostory
Feb 11, 2011

At 7:39 p.m. on Feb. 9, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue was called to a reported fire in an auto body shop at 16501 NW Twin Oaks Drive off Cornell Road in Beaverton.

When crews arrived they found a one-story, concrete building comprised of approximately 20 individual storage units with metal roll-up doors, and heavy black smoke pouring from several storage units used by Twin Oaks Northwest AutoWorks. The fire was also threatening an office and living quarters for the manager of a U-Haul business.

While several crews focused on locating and extinguishing the seat of the fire in the auto body shop, another crew searched the living quarters to confirm there were no residents inside, and additional crews responded to the rear of the building where they found flames through the roof of the building and light smoke showing the length of the building. The commander called a second alarm due to concern about the extent to which the fire had spread to adjoining storage units, residents possibly inside the living quarters, and the building's access challenges.

The fire was brought under control at 8:23 p.m. The cause of the fire was under investigation, which was initially delayed due to concerns over the building's structural integrity. A small number of firefighters remained on scene after the fire, extinguishing hot spots to ensure there would be no flare-ups during the night.

The owner of Northwest AutoWorks told a TVF&R fire investigator that he was in the auto body shop when he heard a loud explosion and the building alarm's system activated. He discovered a garbage can-sized fire that was growing substantially and producing heavy, black smoke. He thought about attempting to fight the fire, but quickly became concerned about the toxicity of the smoke and exited the building.

Three units from Hillsboro Fire Department provided assistance at the scene. The American Red Cross was also called to assist the displaced manager of the U-Haul business.